Prosecutor: Defendant went on "sexual crime spree" in south campus neighborhood in Chico

OROVILLE — A prosecutor told a jury Monday that a 32-year-old man's actions in Chico last June were part of a "sexual crime spree."

During closing arguments in the trial of Michael Rene Fondren Jr., deputy district attorney Jennifer Dupre-Tokos told the Butte County Superior Court jury that the evidence showed the defendant's actions in the neighborhood south of Chico State University affected five victims on or about June 6.

Representing himself, Fondren told the panel of seven women and five men that some witnesses were pressured to support what he called a pile of lies. He said prosecution's and police's version of events was unreasonable and he should be found innocent.

Fondren is charged with two felony counts each of false imprisonment, first-degree burglary with a person present, and assault with intent to commit oral copulation or sodomy. He is also charged with loitering and sexual battery.

Recapping the alleged events on June 6, Dupre-Tokos told the jury that Fondren allegedly approached a man at a house party on the 500 block of Oak Street. The defendant allegedly offered the man a pound of marijuana if he would allow Fondren to orally copulate him. Fondren allegedly touched the man's penis twice, leading to the sexual battery charge.

While at the party, Fondren allegedly encountered a second man and went to a bedroom with him. Leaving the party later, he encountered a third man seeking a cigarette light and brought the man to a bedroom at his residence two blocks away.

In both of the alleged bedroom encounters, Fondren touched or kissed the men and intimidated them by either pushing them back or menacing them. Fondren reportedly said he stepped out of the men's way when they tried to leave, but the prosecutor said the witnesses said otherwise.

In both cases, Dupre-Tokos said neither man could have given consent for Fondren's sexually motivated actions because he never specified what he wanted to do. One man was reportedly so afraid, he repeatedly pressed the emergency call button on his cellphone.

The burglary and loitering charges stem from Fondren allegedly entering apartments on the 600 block of Hickory Street. He allegedly tried to force his way into one man's apartment and was reportedly seen leaving the apartment of a woman shortly before being arrested by Chico police.

Fondren told the jury he couldn't fully remember what happened because he was blackout drunk that night — his blood-alcohol content was 0.15 percent about three hours following his arrest. He said he was celebrating his enrollment in college and a pending job offer.

The defendant noted some of the side effects of drunkenness and said many of the alleged victims had also been drinking that night.

Fondren said the man who accompanied him back to his residence changed his story at trial, including the allegation the man had been pushed.

He denied meeting the man in the alleged marijuana encounter. Fondren also maintained that he didn't cross the threshold into the man's apartment on the 600 block of Hickory. He asserted that man didn't initially want to press charges, but was pressured to by police.

Fondren asserted the police officers' version of events was inconsistent, saying one had a poor recollection of what happened and another was truth-challenged.

Ultimately, the defendant said he didn't have the intent to commit the alleged crimes. He said if he had known the men had felt intimidated, he would have changed his behavior.

Dupre-Tokos rebutted that it didn't make sense for nearly all of the witnesses to have colluded with police against Fondren. Regarding the defendant's alleged intoxication, she said witnesses didn't recall excessive drinking or indications such as slurred speech.

"The only story that doesn't make sense here is Mr. Fondren's," she said.

The jury adjourned Monday after slightly less than three hours of deliberations. The panel will return Wednesday with additional readback of testimony from the two alleged assault victims.